[RC5] EVITERNITY II - RC5 Released!

[Zaratul]

  On 3/6/2024 at 1:35 AM, Raith138 said:

It would look very pixelated though so I think DSDA or GZ are your best options

Expand  

 

Woof now supports high resolutions. That is why im asking. :)

[DreadWanderer]

  On 3/6/2024 at 7:38 PM, Zaratul said:

 

Woof now supports high resolutions. That is why im asking. :)

Expand  

 

If you set the resolution slider to "Native" you should get the best results. Maybe turn smooth pixel scaling on as well, though in a wad like Evi2 this will definitely affect your frame rate if your machine is old.

[CacoKnight]

Nugget is a straight up fork of Woof! and has supported higher resolution for years now, even the configs are interchangeable with some adjustments and now both support native resolution with hardware renderer. I don't get it, why people stick to one port without trying other things? Curiosity anyone?

 

ALSO, isn't the whole point of playing Doom to enjoy a pixelated game? :)

[DreadWanderer]

  On 3/6/2024 at 11:20 PM, CacoKnight said:

ALSO, isn't the whole point of playing Doom to enjoy a pixelated game? :)

Expand  

 

Depends. I can't for the life of me play in 320x240 or something like that. Running high res doesn't necessarily mean that the game is less pixelated, it just makes those pixels much more crisp and allows detail in the distance, which is pretty important to me.

 

I use Nugget and the differences were only noticeable from 3X to 2X scaling in my case, and with the introduction of native res support I no longer have to worry about approximations or anything like that. 

 

Anyway I feel like I'm hijacking a thread that should be about Evi2 so I'll stop here.

Edited March 7, 2024 by DreadWanderer

[CacoKnight]

32K PIXELS!! But yeah, agree on the hijacking thing, over and out.

[june gloom]

  On 3/6/2024 at 11:20 PM, CacoKnight said:

ALSO, isn't the whole point of playing Doom to enjoy a pixelated game? :)

Expand  

 

Art assets != internal resolution.

[greatmoaning]

Can't download it, DL page just shows that cute snowy pic, no control elements at all. Ain't there any dl mirrors? Would be pity, because Eviternity 1 was the best Doom mod I've ever played.

[Tristan]

The website still shows fine for me so I'm not sure what's going wrong at your end, here's a direct link to one of the mirrors, does this work?

[greatmoaning]

Thanks alot, but it was just false alarm - I wasn't aware my mouse's got a wheel on it ^~^ Sometimes you just have to do an awkward post to stumble across the closest solution by yourself... Nevertheless, thanks for the zip!

[RICHIE B]

All right then, seeing someone wrote a huge and brilliant review, I'm too going to say my piece - especially as my opinion often differs ("but that's part of the fun")

 

Saw the article on Google the day Eviternity II came out, so I knew what I was playing that night! That website is so lush and beautifully presented.

 

So, a level by level review then. I probably won't do it all in one go. Really, this is more a recounting of my experiences than an actual objective review but hopefully there will be some funny stories. I will state the map and music authors each time even though we know who they are, because it's worth giving them the extra credit.

 

CHAPTER 1: WITHERED

 

MAP 1 - ELYSIUM (map and music by Eris F... Er I mean Tristan Clark)

  Reveal hidden contents

So, after a short rest for the Doom Slayer, but 5 years for us, we begin where we left off. I think my Cheesy Doom settings were off or it was the game, but everything seemed so dark at first, which is why it took me a while to realise we were in the very Archangelus arena the previous game finished on. Already this is super exciting, and I was one who tried to see if you could pick up his sword. Alas, it's still a pretty decoration. It's all very quiet and atmospheric, the music, understated and probably underrated suits perfectly. Just one enemy! But it's enough to give you a massive fright, Yes, Eviternity's unofficial mascot is back, the Astral Cacodemon, here already in Map 1, with just a pistol! Nice new purple projectile, already an improvement. Keep your distance so it doesn't fire so much. Happily, the tree can help block the fireballs while allowing you to get hitscan shots in. Amazingly, I vanquished the foe without taking a hit. Nostalgic visiting the old levels again, great start! And I'm feeling very pleased with myself righting the wrong of dying on the first level of Eviternity 1...

 

 

MAP 2: VESTIGE (Bauul & Dragonfly, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Alright, the first 'proper' level. Not much to say except I made it to the final area with about 17% health, only to get a shock ambush by 3 nightmare demons, with just a single shotgun. Oh no! Surely I've had it. Well I should have, but SOMEHOW I survived, through sheer will and a refusal to be overcome by impossible odds. I was trapped but with a tiny bit of room to edge backwards away from the bites. Then when completely against the wall, relying on the shotgun blasts to push the enemies back a little, then using that space to edge back into to avoid the bites. A true test of holding my nerve. I made it! Gave up trying to get that soulsphere and completely missed the berserk. All set to great music.

 

MAP 3: SONDER (Map and Music by Dragonfly)

  Reveal hidden contents

So far so good, picked off the initial enemies. Things are looking good. Then I saw a green armor, picked it up, and there's a heart thing like a gore nest! I can guess what this means, next thing I know all these little green soldiers come out and suddenly I'm in the middle of a paintball match. I completely fluffed it and I died - Oh well, was a good run while it lasted. I was too dumb to notice that big purple slipgate was the secret level. Even better, I found the yellow key but managed to miss the soulsphere. And of course I didn't find the super shotgun. Going one better, even though I found the invulnerability I entered the final arena without picking that up too. And if you think all that was a comedy of errors, to top it all off I exited normally and missed the secret level. I realised in following playthroughs you can escape the Astral Caco arena by running around hitting the switches while they're mostly trapped, and I won't enter it without the SSG.

 

MAP 4: ENGULFED (Velvetic & Dragonfly, Music: Dragonfly)

  Reveal hidden contents

Nice level this, and the music fits so well. Seem to be a lot of lost souls. And I notice they've kept their reduced health. This was the wrong decision and it was better and more fun when they had 100 health - said no one ever! I don't know if it's a GZDoom thing or this Wad, but lost souls aren't included in the enemy count and I don't know how to change it. I really don't like this because they are enemies and I think they should count, and I like to kill EVERYTHING to completely clear the level, as if I'm securing the area for others. Gave up on the soulsphere again. Slightly forgotten on my first playthrough amongst the other levels.

 

MAP 5: DEPARTURE (Velvetic & DFly again, Music: Jimmy)

  Reveal hidden contents

It might be expected that a Heliopian level would appear. For the fourth time in a row I got stumped by the soulsphere secret. Did find the blue armour by hopping out the window though, but got softlocked because the bars hadn't gone down for that area yet? This map is best remembered for the debut of the Astral Arachnotron, with it's stunning spray of projectiles in a helix looking pattern - alright, new enemies! I took great pride in clearing the final water battle first time but immediately fell flat by embarassingly getting repeatedly beaten up by the cyberdemons. Lets just get out of here...

 

MAP 31: REDSHIFT - NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH VALIANT MAP 29 (AfterGlow, Music: Jimmy)

  Reveal hidden contents

Well I missed this completely first time around. Oh by the way, speaking of Valiant, as amazing as Eviternity 1 was, and it's still my all time favourite, the gameplay was great but if there was any weakness in Eviternity 1 it probably slightly lacked the crazy, satisfying and fun experiences and setpieces compared to other megawads like Valiant. Can I say that Eviternity 2 more than addresses this, and then some. Case in point, Redshift. Where to start? Perfect Jimmy music, manic but fun. Then finding out the rumours were true - there really is a new weapon - in Eviternity! And my word is it a good one. No peashooter this. You're immediately given 4 barons as fodder, and the perforator does exactly that, one hit kills! Then the imps flood in, and maybe it's not so good with large crowds. The author understands this isn't the time for fiddly resource management and we all just want to play with our new gun, so we are given bullet boxes almost left right and centre. Still a tough level though, I died 8 times.

 

 

Well, I'll leave it there for now. If you like it I'll reel off the rest, I've still got plenty to say.

Edited March 19, 2024 by RICHIE B
Tpyos, Added Spoiler Tags, so I don't spoil it for people.

[RICHIE B]

  On 2/28/2024 at 3:35 PM, Arsinikk said:

Finally got around to playing through Eviternity II.

 

The megawad is very large, so I feel that it's worth me doing a map-by-map review of what I thought. I played RC5 in DSDA Doom.

 

Please note, I can be very blunt with my criticisms. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a friend or not, I will say what it is that I think without filter. Please do not take my criticisms personal, as I bear no ill will towards any mapper or their craft. I simply wish to express my overall thoughts, hopefully in order to make Eviternity II better.

 

You can watch my Eviternity II streams on Twitch (Let me know if you want me to make permanent video archives of the vids):

https://www.twitch.tv/arsinikkdm

 

Overall Thoughts (SPOILERS):

  Reveal hidden contents

Overall it's an impressive project. The megawad’s quality is top notch and the size and scale of the maps are immense. This is both an amazing thing and also potentially a fault.

 

I quite enjoyed the first Eviternity. It’s pretty high quality and has impressive looking maps. It had a certain amount of polish to it that other WADs didn’t have, which made it unique. Eviternity II, on the other hand, pushes all these aspects to eleven. Every map in Eviternity II is larger in scope with higher detail, sprawling maps, and even more maps. This is amazing quality-wise, but I do think it has its drawbacks.

 

Pretty much every map in Eviternity II is around 40 minutes at the low end, especially on a blind playthrough. This is compared to the average length of maps being shorter in the original maps in Eviternity. There is almost this sense of magnum opus syndrome with alot of the maps, where every map needs to be a big showcase of something. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does result in the megawad requiring a larger commitment to play compared to the original.

 

I didn’t find Eviternity II that difficult, the fights and maps are well put together and dare I say “beautiful” that it is a very solid package. One bonus is that it was a rarity that I ever felt lost or confused when making my way to the exit.

 

I don’t know if I’d call this a bad thing, but I do wonder if releasing such a high quality megawad would deter people from making their own projects, due to Eviternity II possibly creating too high of a standard to meet. It’s tricky because Eviternity II is very impressive in everything it does, and it should rightly be praised for that. But quality-wise, it does present a new perception of what a high quality megawad is for the community, and I suspect it will be a while til another megawad releases with the same amount of quality.

 

General Episode / Map Order Thoughts (SPOILERS):

  Reveal hidden contents

Episode I: Withered

This was a good opener for the megawad. I like that it’s almost a continuation of the final episode of Eviternity, while also adding an element of decay. Gives both a familiarity and a uniqueness to it.

 

Episode II: Sanctuary

While I will say this episode started out as a little bit of a sour note, all the maps are pretty good here. I’d say the downside of this egypt/mayan theme is that I’ve seen it in many other wads like Epic 2, Deus Vult II, Hexen II. So the theme feels less fresh and original to me.

 

Episode III: Petrified

This is actually my favourite episode of Eviternity II. It has alot of my favourite maps, and the aesthetic feels unique. It’s interesting because I remember the first Eviternity had a sort of Brutalist episode, but this one feels more interesting. For architecture, it goes for the grayscale, while it’s compensated with a very colourful depiction of nature. It creates a fascinating dichotomy.

 

Episode IV: Bastion

I have mixed feelings about this episode. I feel like we’ve already explored a bit of this theme with the original Eviternity, and while I do enjoy castles and the like, it’s like the original theme but with detail and scale turned up to eleven.

 

Episode V: Hyperborean

So my favourite episode of the original Eviternity was probably the snow episode, since we don’t get alot of snow themed Doom maps. I guess the twist with this episode is that it combines techbase with snow. Unfortunately I’m not a big fan of the techbase aesthetic in general, so I don’t think I was that crazy about this episode’s theme.

 

Episode VI: Celestial

So I’ll admit the maps in this episode are done well and look really nice. Unfortunately I’ve seen this kind of aesthetic before in many other wads - black offset by neon colours. For this fact alone, I found the aesthetic of this episode nothing really new. I will say specifically just for this episode, that I thought the map order felt really off. MAP26 is a killer map and seems to be the showstealer. The next maps almost feel like a step down from MAP26. I don’t really feel any kind of escalation of this episode with how the map order is. I don’t know how to fix it, but this episode feels the most off to me. Not to mention that I think having MAP36 right after MAP29 is a huge pace killer. It really feels like MAP36 would make more sense being accessed from MAP26 or MAP27 instead.

 

Map-by-Map Review (SPOILERS):

  Reveal hidden contents

Episode I: Withered:

 

MAP01: Elysium

Great intro map. I like that it’s essentially a retooled version of Eviternity’s MAP29. It’s cool to see a decayed version of the previous MAP29, and it’s a nice reminder of the previous megawad. The scripting in the map is really impressive as well. I love the teleporting torch paths. I did notice that sometimes you can get caught on the corners of the torch “ride”, but it seemed kinda minor so it’s fine. Also nice touch with using barrels to damage the Astral Caco ;). If I had a minor criticism, it is that it isn’t exactly clear where the player should go. Especially when they reach the X building. There are multiple paths the player can go down, but there isn’t really a point to do so. I do wonder if it would be better to block these areas to make it more clear to the player where they should go.

 

MAP02: Vestige

Interesting enough, I actually really like this map. It’s very simple (compared to many of the maps to come), but I think it does its job well. I love the black decayed textures (in place of liquid?). The rain, while cool, is kinda underwhelming. It’d be cooler to me to see more rain throughout the wad, like heavy rain at one point. I wonder if the reason for not doing that was for performance reasons?

 

MAP03: Sonder

Another pretty solid map. This map introduces the shootable heart mechanic, which is kinda weird since it only shows up here and MAP37. I’ll go into that more in depth later on. Overall the heart mechanic is done well in teaching the player with how they work. My favourite part of the map is the centre blood pit that morphs for the fight. Very cool level transformation.

 

I really like how y’all did secret exits in this wad. They are a different colour (purple) than the normal exits (gold), and they are often easy to see during the level. This is great for player readability as the player is never confused on what maps have the secret exits (and since it could be any map due to MBF21/UMAPINFO, this is very useful). The main challenge for the secret exits is not finding them, but often figuring out how to get to them.

 

Regarding this specific map I didn’t have that many problems finding the secret exit switches, but I did get stuck forgetting to hit a secret exit step switch in a secret I already tagged, but forgot to actually hit the switch when I found it.

 

MAP04: Engulfed
I actually don’t have much to say about this map. It was very solid. I think it took me a while to find all the secrets, but once I found them all, I didn’t think any were unfair or anything. Good map.

 

MAP05: Departure

Again, not much to comment on for this map. Very solid map. It’s supposed to be the intro of the new Astral Arachnotron, I think? The only secret I wasn’t a fan of is the shoot switch in the green fire. I thought it a bit too difficult to see from the vantage point that you are meant to shoot it from. I actually tried to shoot the green fire there, but failed to see the tiny switch on the side of it.

 

 

 

Episode II: Sanctuary:

MAP06: Rite

This is my least favourite map of the set. It frustrates me to say this since I love the idea and atmosphere of the map. At first when I played this map, I was enjoying it quite a bit. It’s a bit dark and almost spooky. It gave me a bit of Eternal / Epic 2 vibes. But I think the biggest flaw of this map is the level layout. It works really well when you are first dredging through it, but it becomes really confusing and annoying if you try to do any exploring in areas you’ve already visited. I sincerely think that this map would really benefit from 1 or 2 shortcuts opening up after you grab a key or move forward the progression. On top of this, I wasn’t a huge fan of the secrets in this map. I don’t know if I was just dumb, but this is honestly the only map I had trouble finding the secrets. To be fair, they are secrets, so they should be hidden, but I didn’t really find any joy by finding them. My least favourite secret involved a tiny gold square switch on a pillar. I think part of the reason this annoyed me so much is that I didn’t know what a switch looked like since I hadn’t seen switches like that before because of the new episode theme. I think that would’ve worked better if I were more accustomed to how the switches of the episode looked like.

 

MAP07: Sovereign

This map really surprised me. Since I tend to not enjoy very open maps, I was concerned that this map would be confusing to navigate. Thankfully, this map is actually quite fun to explore and navigate. It might actually be my favourite map of the episode to be honest. Good map, and a nice compliment to the dark and claustrophobic nature of the last map.

 

MAP08: Oblation

Another map that gave me some fun Eternal vibes with some really fun combat. Has a few fights that really use the new Arachnotron to its full potential. I got a kick out of being able to hit a secret switch with an SSG shot. I really like how the map starts and ends in about the same place, very satisfying and interesting. We’ll see that again in a future Bri map. This is the first map where I noticed the teleport particle spawner can get crushed into gibs, although I’ll go more into that in the “bugs” section.

 

MAP09: Quetzalcoatl

Probably the most forgettable map of episode 2, but not a bad map at all. Still just as fun to play. I think it was this map that I mentioned how I liked how the teleport particles were used… lol until a certain secret broke that rule :P. It seemed to this point that particles were only used to denote a teleporter entry and not a destination point. I thought that was a very clever way to distinguish the two from a gameplay perspective. There is a secret in the south west part of the map where you can see the particles, but it’s actually a teleport destination. I can sorta give this a pass though, because it helps convey to the player that there’s a teleporter there and the player can get there. I had a bit of trouble trying to get to the BFG and the secret exit in this map… Although now it seems pretty obvious in hindsight, and I guess I was just blind to it lol.

 

MAP10: Incinerate

I have mixed feelings about this map. The overall map is a good map. It’s also one of the rare actual short maps of the megawad.

 

I have two points of contention.

1) It seems like this map is supposed to showcase the new Astral Mancubus, but I feel that having a cyberdemon in the middle of the map kinda takes the spotlight away from showcasing the new enemy and its new attacks. I have mixed feelings about this because the setup works pretty well. But I don’t really feel like I could get a good understanding of how the new enemy works from this map.

2) My second minor complaint is the secret BFG shoot switch. Because of how the map is and how it uses flashing sectors, it’s very difficult to see the switch you’re supposed to shoot. It may as well be invisible. I will say that when I figured out it was a BFG and that it would make the rest of the map alot of easier, I felt more conflicted. While it is hard to notice, especially on a blind playthrough, it is a BFG and would trivialise the previous fight some. So I'm not sure what to think there.

 

 

 

Episode III: Petrified:

 

MAP11: Titan

This map is fucking awesome lol. The main thing that sold me on this map is the beginning fight. It’s so brutal, but also extremely fun. I was actually kinda surprised by how much I liked the nature and brutalism aesthetic combo. It’s not really a style I’ve seen in Doom maps and I think it’s executed quite well here. There’s an extremely evil soulsphere secret hiding between two bushes. I honestly have no idea how you’re supposed to find that blind. I think this is the map where I finally could see how the new Mancubus worked.

 

MAP12: Collapse

This might be my favourite map of the set. I love how the environment shifts around the player here. On top of that it even includes my favourite Cyberdemon telefrags to boot. The general size and scale of this map reminded me of the first Eviternity, and I loved it. Regarding secrets, perhaps I was blind, but I did not notice the shoot switch for the soulsphere. Perhaps since I didn’t consider the “backdrop” a place where there was something I could interact with. Midi really reminded me of “Rotted Roots”, my favourite midi from the original Eviternity.

 

MAP13: Colossicus

Aesthetically speaking, this map is fantastic. The main giant corridor with beams overhead, it’s truly jaw dropping. Gameplay-wise I’m not such a big fan of this map. Perhaps it’s the having to do each side of the building leading to having to reach the left and right second-story parts of the building that just made me feel like I had to do the same thing twice. I almost think this would be a better map if you did the top second-story progression at the same time, right after the other, so it didn’t feel like I was retreading old ground.

 

MAP14: Equanimity

Damn this episode is a banger. I also really enjoyed this map. I will say that I do LOVE puzzles, so perhaps that is one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. Most puzzles were a breeze for me, which actually surprised my Twitch chat, with how fast I beat stuff like the slide puzzle. Pretty fun map. Only secret I thought was a little unfair was a certain soulsphere that is hidden in a center planter. The reason I wasn’t crazy about this secret is that there’s no way to know something would be in there since it is never in sight.

 

MAP15: Rubicon

I like tough slaughter type maps, so naturally I did enjoy a map by Scotty :P. I spent a bit looking for the secrets, but once I found them, I thought they were fair enough. Didn’t have many problems with this one. This map introduces the Veilimp, I think? Still not sure how I feel about them. I think it’s funny that their “teleporting” isn’t really teleporting, as they can’t move down or up elevations. It’s more like turning invisible. Fun map.

 

 

 

Episode IV: Bastion:

 

MAP16: Barbican

This is a bizarre map. I don’t know how I feel about it. I find the map itself to be a bit strange, but the midi is probably the strangest in the whole wad (not bad, but out-of-place; odd). I don’t wanna be too harsh, but this is probably the most forgettable map in the set… I would say if it was not for a certain area that looks very similar to MAP01 from the original Eviternity. It’s worth mentioning that it’s the first map of an episode that includes a secret exit, which is pretty cool.

 

MAP17: Perdita

I love this map… like alot. Extremely fun to play. Fights are pretty punishing and kept me on my toes. The crazy sector-ed houses made me chuckle. Secrets were fun to find. I also really enjoyed the “other dimension” section at the end… And the fact you could return back to the original area (aka not get locked out secret exploration). Great map from Liberation.

 

MAP18: Malaise

The best way I’d describe this map is that it feels like a quake map to me. That’s not a negative… Because I enjoyed this map quite a bit. A certain crazy secret with a red eye scared me that the secrets would be super cryptic, but actually it wasn’t that bad :P. It cracked me up that everyone is fascinated with the midtex bridge with the torches underneath, since it’s not too tricky to do (you could totally do that in Boom). I will say it looks pretty damn cool tho :). Fun map throughout.

 

MAP19: Spellbound

The best way to describe this map is… comfy? It’s like a village and it looks good. Combat is good, but not too crazy. Highlight for me was a certain soulsphere teleport trap that’s fucking hilarious. Also another megasphere / Annihilator placement that’s just amazing. Don’t have much more to say to be honest.

 

MAP20: Dominion

Not sure what to think about this map to be honest. I really like the castle aesthetic, it really gives me some Eternal Doom vibes. I think I’d say that this map has the strange quality of being more difficult to navigate than I think it should. Not really sure why that is. I found myself getting a little lost and unable to get around very well. It’s one of those maps where having the automap doesn’t actually seem to help much, as you need to take a specific path to get to a point in the map. On stream, many people complained about the cyberdemon in this map, but to be honest, it died rather quickly for me… Though that’s perhaps because I had trouble navigating the map, that by the time I went to kill the Cyber, he was already pretty weak :P. The midi of this map goes hard.

 

 

 

Episode V: Hyperborean:

 

MAP21: Numb

Another snow episode just like in the original Eviternity. It’s gonna take alot to top my favourite Eviternity map “Cryonology”. Honestly the coolest thing about this map is the dehacked snow and the reflective metal effect. When I was playing I immediately could tell it was using a translucent effect to do that… However, using a sky behind it does have a very cool effect. To be honest, that may be my favourite new “feature” in Eviternity II. It’s crazy how simple and easy it is to do that effect as well :). Regarding the map, it’s a well put together snow map. Not really crazy about the duality of the map, but I think it’s done better here than it was in MAP13. The end of this map being a certain cave from the next map is actually really nice looking.

 

MAP22: Inclement

This is an interesting map, as it kinda starts with a panic with you flailing to get a foot hood. It’s not too long before you regain your composure though. I was really surprised to see the “use any key” switch, which is not something you see used that often. Regarding the secret exit, it was pretty straight forward. What I will say is that I thought it was really strange that you can reach the area with the secret exit door before the room has opened. It felt really strange finding that area first and then finding there was nothing there. It was only after finding all the switches that the door was opened.

 

MAP23: Thaw

Not too crazy about this map, although I don’t really enjoy techbase maps, so… It’s not a bad map and I do like the concept of turning on a “heater” and melting certain ice textures. I think the melting of certain ice textures was a mechanic that was taught well and I especially liked that there were dedicated ice textures to make it crystal clear (pun intended?). Some of the Archvile traps in this map were particularly nasty which was fun.

 

MAP24: Termeraire

So… That boat tho. So jokes aside I do enjoy this map quite a bit. Although I’m generally a fan of Antares031's maps in general. This map actually has some of the most punishing fights in the whole megawad. I love it. I was able to find all the map secrets (even the bonus path to go around the boat that ends in a stupid stupid health bonus). Only secret that I wasn’t fond of was a specific rocket launcher secret behind some boxes with a white arrow in it. I wasn’t crazy about that secret, because on the other side where you can see that room, you can’t see there’s anything in there, so there was really no reason for me to search for a path into that room. If I had a minor critique of the map it’s the snow caves are very reminiscent of Antares’s map from the first Eviternity (MAP14: Frimaire). Then again, it’s the same mapper so -shrug-. This will probably be the main map I’ll remember from Eviternity II from the final boat sequence alone. Also I thank Antares for allowing me to backtrack at the end.

 

MAP25: Boreas

So I feel I should like this map since I tend to enjoy boss maps. I can’t really fault the mapper here though because the Necromenance is a bit of a hard boss to learn how to deal with. I think this was probably the best way to introduce such an enemy. It is pretty funny fighting the first phase and not understanding what the ghosts do. It’s only in the second phase that you start to get how dangerous this enemy actually is.

 

 

 

Episode VI: Celestial:

 

MAP26: Myriad

This is my favourite Episode VI map. It’s got such a unique concept with having a bunch of “trails” to complete. I also really like how there’s a secret in every trial and the fact you can re-enter the trails after completing them. It’d be much harsher to expect players to find each secret in each trail during the action, and then not be able to return afterward, so I appreciate that quite a bit. Also this is the first map where you can get the Perforator that’s not a secret map, which is awesome to pistol-start players. Each of the trials is distinct enough from each other that they're fun to go through.

 

MAP27: Empyreal

It’s a bit of a shame that if the previous map was the highlight, that the only place to go is down. Not saying that this or any of the future maps are bad. No, they are all quality. I really enjoyed the intro fight of this map. I will say it is this episode where the difficulty actually starts to rear its ugly head. From this map forward you can expect a Necromancer in basically every map, for better or worse. The final fight of this map is pretty brutal if you don’t find the secret BFG. If I had any comment on aesthetics here, it’d be that I think it’s strange that the green crystal wall texture has an animation, but the green crystal flat isn’t animated.

 

MAP28: Afterimage

Another pretty solid map. Overall solid fights. This is the first map of the set where I actually almost ran out of ammo at the end to deal with the Necromancer. Luckily I was able to find 1 or 2 cell packs, but I actually got a bit worried at the end there. There are quite a bit of Astral Cacodemons and Nightmare Astral Cacodemons in this map.

 

MAP29: Maelstrom

I found this map a bit disappointing for a penultimate map. Map does look pretty snazzy. This is the only map where I’d actually complain it’s slightly too dark. Dark enough to have me complain about not being able to see enemies or where I’m going. Overall it is a fun map, and I don’t really have much to say about secrets or anything. I do like that you have the secret exit visible near the very start.

 

MAP30: Cosmology

Funny how looking at the towers I immediately could tell Antares was involved. Pretty simple arena map, but awesome final boss. I give my thoughts on the final boss in the “new monsters” section below, but I did like this map. Not much more to say.

 

 

Secret Maps / Credits:

 

MAP31: Redshift

This might actually be one of my favourite maps in the set… Partly because it has my favourite midi of the set, but also because of the introduction of The Perforator. I was a bit unsure of how I felt about the new weapon at first, but when I learned that it could one shot a baron, I was sold. This map heavily reminded me of some of the old Eviternity Automation Episode (MAP06-MAP10). Just a very fun map and fun new weapon to accompany it.

 

MAP32: Charge

This is my favourite secret map of the set. I don’t know if I would say it’s my favourite map of the set though. It’s got alot of cool and fantastic things going for it, but it’s also a very long map. The electric death floor is an extremely fun gimmick and it’s explained and used very well here. I don’t really have strong feelings for or against the Gold Astral Cacodemon, but it’s fun. It’s not the mappers fault, but it’s pretty easy to sometimes miss the “cutscenes” with him. Though with some horror games, it’s the same thing, so what can you do? I think my favourite part of the map was the secret progression to a dark facility. The way the giant door lowers with such scale and macro-architecture is so cool.

 

My only complaint about this map is a certain secret. Usually I wouldn’t complain about secrets, but there is this one secret that includes a way to backtrack to an early part of the level. The fact that this is locked behind a secret (and a cryptic one too), is just not very cool. None of the other secrets in this map or really the main megawad ever really impeded me from backtracking, so looking for secrets without this shortcut was extremely annoying to deal with. The specific secret I’m referencing involves you interacting with a wood box (not for the first secret which is the box itself), and it randomly opens a shortcut door temporarily.

 

MAP33: Catalyst

So I have alot to say about this map. I think many people do, some who really like it, and some who really don’t. I’ll start by saying I respect the making of this map and I think the map is done well for what it set out to do. What I’ll also say is that I don’t like this map, and I’ll never play it again. At first playing through the map, while it’s not the kind of map I enjoy, I thought it was pretty good. However, I do think that especially at the end sequence, it’s not very accessible for casual players. This ironically was the hardest map of the set for me. I will say that I do think I have slower reflexes than most, partly due to having ADHD. I actually don’t really understand how you’re supposed to do the final section. It seems like you’re required to walk through the yellow parts of the lines in some of the final parts. I did think that the red/yellow lines did seem inconsistent on where exactly they would kill you or not. Long story short, I respect the effort and craft of this map, but I don’t personally enjoy or really like it at all. I have mixed feelings on whether I think it was a good idea to include this in the project. I can see why players who enjoy these kinds of maps would be thrilled, but I do think the skill ceiling for this map is probably the highest in the entire wad. 

 

MAP34: Freya

Map looks really good, but to be honest I’m not really the person that cares that much about how a map looks. I care more about how a map plays and the combat. The combat is relatively solid. The main thing that I’ll probably remember about this map is the giant Veil Imp ambush at the end. It’s awesome. This is another map by Bri that ends where it begins, which is pretty cool I will say.

 

MAP35: Parallel

This is an awesome map. I love it. This kinda has a very similar idea to TNT: Revolution MAP32 “Duality”, but just done so much better. The fact that you immediately learn the gimmick of the Viscera like-pink floor changing to the other dimension so easily is testament to good design. If I had a minor nitpick it’d be that the secret to grab the megasphere is in a completely different area which is a little iffy in my opinion. Overall great map, great execution.

 

MAP36: Kenosis

So I had this map hyped up for me. This is a very strange map, and I’m still not exactly how I feel about it. It is competently made and the map scripting is excellent. I just found the first part of the map gathering weapons to just not be fun. Maybe it’s the particular order I did the buildings in, but there are just so many fights that are… very annoying. Bytefyre said there was a certain story with the music, but I really do think the music kinda harms this map. It’s not a bad track, but I definitely think for a map this long, it’d benefit the map to have a music change at some point. Particularly when you enter the upside cross area. Weirdly enough when I entered the middle area, I started enjoying the map alot more. The best part of the map is obviously the final fight / sequence. I just honestly don’t feel like the reveal justifies having to go through all of the map before it. To be quite honest, I think I would’ve liked this map much better if it wasn’t right after MAP29. It’s a major pace killer.

 

MAP37: Credits

Pretty cool put together credits map to show off all the maps with music changes to accompany them. So I figured out there’s a secret Baby Astral Cacodemon ambush fight in this map, but I haven’t figured out why the combination is what it is. If someone could tell me why the combination is what it is, I’d appreciate that :).

 

 

New Weapon / New Monsters / Misc Dehacked thoughts (SPOILERS):

  Reveal hidden contents

New Weapon:

 

The Perforator:

Extremely fun weapon to use. The fact it can one-shot barons is just amazing. I think if I had any complaint about this weapon, it’d be that while pistol starting Eviternity II, you don’t really get to use it very often. I understand the reasoning of locking the weapon only in the secret maps, but it just ends up in it not getting that much use in the wad. I will say this does get a bit better in the final episode as you finally get the weapon in the main maps.

 

 

 

New Monsters:

 

Former Corporal:
I think these were nerfed a bit from the ones in the original Eviternity. I think they shoot less now, and their projectiles may do less damage? Anyway I like that they aren’t hitscan. Not such a bit fan of the sfx, since I recognise them from Doom 64.

 

Nightmare Demon:

I actually used to not be so fond of these guys besides just another slightly faster pinky… But then when you try to shoot rockets during a fight, their faster speed makes all the sense, as I die from a face rocket. Nuff said.

 

Annihilator:

Slightly nerfed from their original counterpart, I love the fact they aren’t hitscan anymore. They are much less annoying in this regard now. I will say that the occasional rocket one shot does still kinda get a tiny bit annoying.

 

Astral Cacodemon:

These are scariest SOBs in the wad (or at least until I met the Nightmare variant). Just like in the original Eviternity, they can most of the time one-shot you in melee range. Their movement is still erratic, although they have a slightly different purple projectile. I’m still not exactly sure if it does more or less damage than the main projectiles.

 

Astral Arachnotron:

I wasn’t crazy about these guys to begin with. At first they just seemed like Arachnotrons that move faster with a fancy projectile fire spray. Although they are a bit more interesting in monster hordes since their spray covers a wide range. By themselves they don’t really add much to the combat puzzle, but with others their spray can whittle you down.

 

Astral Mancubus:

Just like the Astral Arachnotron, I wasn’t crazy about these guys either. Basically a tankier Mancubus with three fire modes. Conceptually and execution-wise they are interesting, but regarding actual combat I wasn’t quite sold on their inclusion. My favourite part about these guys is the signposting (colour) showing their attacks before actually attacking. I will say that it did take me a full playthrough to understand their attacks, and I do find them a bit more interesting. Yellow means a spray of projectiles straight ahead. Like a shotgun, but wider spread and very damaging. Purple means projectiles that when they hit something, they will change their direction towards the player at that point of hitting a surface. It’s like a less accurate revenant missile, but still can catch you off guard. I’ll come back to this when I talk about the Nightmare Astral Cacodemon. Green, ironically, is the most simple attack, but it took me a full playthrough to understand it. Basically it shoots projectiles to the right and left of the player, meaning the best way to avoid this is to stay right in front while the attack happens. I’m surprised about how much this messes with muscle memory of dealing with Mancubi. I ended up liking these guys quite a bit now.

 

Veil Imp:

Speaking of signposting and not doing that, I present the Veil Imp. So I actually kinda like these guys. I like that they are lower tier enemies. The “teleport” mechanic is really funny if you know how dehacked works, and you realise that they aren’t actually teleporting. It’s all an illusion for turning invisible. What is interesting is that with MBF21 they could have actually had them actually teleport past ledges and such, but chose not to. I’m guessing it may have been for balancing reasons and keeping them contained in specific areas? The only thing I don’t like about these guys is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to tell which attack they are going to do.

 

Nightmare Astral Cacodemon:

Never would I think there would be something scarier than an Astral Cacodemon… Well here we are. It’s faster (maybe?), tankier, and its projectiles are a bitch. Particularly the purple projectiles that change direction towards the player. These guys truly are a pain to deal with.

 

Necromenance:

Wasn’t sure what to think of this enemy. I can’t complain that effort wasn’t taken to explain how he works, since there’s MAP25. I still think it took me a bit to figure out a good strat. Essentially he’s kind of like a tanky archvile without the hitscan fire attack. What’s interesting is that he shoots out spirits to resurrect monsters en masse. Occasionally he does also shoot a normal projectile at the player. It’s the spirits though that are what make it tricky to deal with. Specifically cuz the spirits are fast and die from rockets. This makes rocketing these guys an awful idea (face rockets galore). I’ve found the best strat is to use the Plasma to both hit him and kill any spirits it shoots out at the same time. I will say I think this is the most unique enemy in the wad to fight combat-wise. They are truly scary to deal with without any plasmagun or bfg.

 

Eviternatus (Final Boss):

Well I will say I like this final boss much more than the final boss of Eviternity. It does truly feel like a final boss, with a big arena and phases, which is pretty cool. Would still be nice to have some kind of health bar, but I guess I can take what I can get. It’s funny how Doomers get surprised about stuff like the environment shifting, since that could already have been done via MBF, and isn’t really that new at all.

 

 

 

Misc Dehacked thoughts:
 

No more health/amour bonus item counts:
I actually really like this change, and kinda surprised this hasn’t been done sooner. I assume this was done to compensate for the Former Corporal dropping armour bonuses. Let’s be real, no one enjoys searching for bonuses. I think having the other items is much more reasonable, since they actually make a difference. I will say that in a bit of the maps, it does seem like bonuses were placed in the traditional way.. It makes me wonder if the bonus count change was made late into development.

 

Teleport Particles:
This is very reminiscent of teleports in Heretic, but I really like the use here. It makes it very clear when something’s a teleport or not. I think I’d like it more if it was only used for entry teleports and not destination teleports, but the wad is for the most part consistent about that. One thing to note is that the particle spawners can be crushed when the floor and ceiling become 0.

 

Weather Effects:
I do like having actual rain and snow. With all the extra frames that DEHEXTRA gives, it really does make it easy to have free frames to do stuff like that. I do sorta wish that the rain was more plentiful, but perhaps that was done due to performance reasons? One minor downside with the snow is that if it’s in the opening shot of the map (example being MAP21), you can see that it doesn’t start falling until once the map starts. It can slightly ruin the immersion of it always have been snowing. It’s minor, but it’s a thought.

 

 

Bugs:

  Reveal hidden contents

Teleport Particle Spawners becoming crushed gibs

I mentioned this above, but I’ll put it here too. Teleport particle spawners can be crushed when the floor and ceiling become 0. This is most easy to see in MAP08 as a pillar with particles will raise to the ceiling and then lower and be replaced with gibs. I used to think this was because the thing had a death state, but it’s actually because things in Doom are hardcoded (even in MBF21) to become crushed gibs if they have a moving frame.

 

I may have come across something else in my playthrough, but I can’t really remember. It was mostly a bug free experience.

 

Expand  

Bravo. Bravo, Bravo! Thanks for this, enjoyed reading it. I'm also doing my own. 

[RICHIE B]

EDIT: OMG what just happened??? I just sat on my keyboard by mistake while I was typing this and now I've made a huge mess and sent it all! Can anyone help pls???

 

I also got the map credits wrong and was going to check on the wiki and correct them. Now everyone can see how wrong I got it.

 

Right I'm going to finish this post here. The others have to go in the bin. EDIT: THIS IS THE FINAL FINISHED POST, THE OTHERS NEED TO BE BINNED.

 

And now, presenting tonight's episode, Chapter 2  - Sanctuary (won't be much of that here)

 

Awww Sheeeeeet! I forgot to put spoiler tags on last time. I'm not used to this. Hopefully I can maybe just about get away with spoiling episode 1 for some poor newbies who haven't played it, yet are for some reason here on page 30 of this thread? Right, I'll do it now before I forget.

 

(Also, CHAPTER 1 Favourite level - including the secret level - Elysium actually. Least favourite, hmmm don't know, probably Sonder cos I had such a crap time haha)

 

MAP 6 - RITE (Map: An_Mutt! Yes An_Mutt & Music: Dragonfly)

  Reveal hidden contents

Ah, so we're in Aztec world now. Well to be honest this has never really been my favourite setting in any game, going back to the Sonic & Knuckles days. I enjoyed Sandopolis Zone exactly the first time I played it, then never again. But this is a very decent map, I do quite enjoy the odd Tyson survival minimalist map every now and then. We never really got one in Eviternity 1 I think. And I appreciate how this scenario is used sparingly, or it would start wearing out it's welcome sharpish. So what do we have then? Lots and lots of annoying skulls ramming you over and over and over again, extremely aggressive and annoying wretched things, worse than wasps. Bulls that keep biting with bad RNG, but only a few paintballers thankfully. Still wondering if the elite chaingunners will turn up soon. If you've never gotten round to punching out revenants, well you're going to have to here really. It's not that hard really, same method as the SSG basically. Punching out Hell Knights has always been a bugbear though. I do so patiently, but they ALWAYS each and every time get one huge swipe - more often than not the full 64 damage - in on me, turning the screen completely red blinding you. Drives me around the bend. BUT, this was probably the first map I FINALLY for the first time defeated a hell knight with punches without damage - flawless victory - even better, I did it again with the next one too! As per usual I can't get the soulsphere so have to go without yet again. Missed the chaingun secret too. Pain in the ass distant annihilator too, have to wait till he stops walking around to shoot, then immediately fire and run so your rocket hits him before he starts walking again, otherwise it's just going to be every shot missing, which is no fun. Good level but was glad to see the exit.

 

MAP 7: SOVEREIGN (DMPhobos, Music: Tristan, not Dragonfly the wiki says - I swear blind it was dragonfly?)

  Reveal hidden contents

All right, back into the open and time to stretch your legs. I really like this one, but it can easily all go wrong. A fine line between everything flowing great, or bad bad luck at every turn, bullshit RNG, every shot hitting you, bumping into every fireball, leaving you giving the finger. Still can barely figure out which way to go but for explorers it's great. The revenant, archvile, annihilator and caco carnage is nasty, while the astral spiders on perches with teleporting imps below (red key?) ALWAYS leaves me hanging onto a few inches of health. It always goes wrong yet I never seem to quite die. That little switch in the wall in that little upper green armor room that releases a blue armor was way too obscure without any noticeable difference in texture at all, before getting fixed later. Brutal Brutal fight at the end, but you can cheese it by running over the linedef only slightly to stay on the upper section. Huge memorable level, which is funny cos I can't remember where to go. Oh, by the way, I found that soulsphere secret in the wall all by myself. FINALLY I got one.

 

MAP 8: OBLATION (Bri, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Oh yeah, this one. Now I promised myself I was going to be brutally honest. Well I won't be brutal but I will be honest. There's nowt wrong with this place, fine looking map, generous supplies and all, but this one was forgotten amongst all the others for me - inevitably there's going to be one or two - and to be honest I wouldn't mind if it just skipped from map07 to map 09. Remembered the final fight in the open area though, just couldn't remember which map it was in. Same for the music strangely, was it a crap tune? NO WAY! But was it the very top of the pile? Also no. But when one person does about HALF the score and that much of a workhorse, understandably a few will be less memorable than others, so it's fine. Sorry Bri (Dominion and Freya are fantastic).

 

It was at this point though, that I was thinking, though Eviternity II is beautifully presented and in so many ways taken to the next level from 5 years ago, I felt so very much this is like a high level version of Memento Mori II compared to Memento Mori I. Much more polished, more challenging, but maybe just somehow missing a final little something I can't explain. The last little bit to make it magic. As wonderful as Eviternity II has been, there's a small feeling somewhere this is just like more levels, like it's a (beautiful 4 or 4.5 instead of 5). But this is just me and my expectations getting out of hand in the excitement. Bear in mind I missed both secret levels so far which I'd heard rumours were fantastic. Oh well, we're barely 20% of the way through, so much more to see and play yet, so let's go!

 

MAP 9: QUETZALCOATL (Map: Dragonfly, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Wooo this is a good one, with beautiful music for a high adventure feel! A central structure, with 3 branching areas off to the sides. And lots of mini paths to explore too! A non-linear map - take your pick! Just complete all the switches and grab the keys from the centre when you're done. After clearing out the whole first open area I take the hardest area in the corner first, to get to the secret level switch and grab the BFG, making the rest much easier. The area from the lower archvile cave is fun, but guess who missed the different colour torch leading to the soulsphere? BTW there are so many soulspheres in this map even I managed to find a few by accident. The one sitting in the open on the bridge is almost taking pity on me. There are also two small paths round the back where you drop down by the normal exit. One of them leads into the side of the map thru the back entrance, I like it. Just please don't forget to press the huge stone switch right there in front of you so you can get out. Don't be a doofus coming on here thinking there's a mistake with the map - I would never do such a thing... Errrrr.... Anyway, yes, tough great map, and of course I exited normally and missed the secret map again. Great going!

 

 

MAP 10: INCINERATE (Map: Dragonfly, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Eviternity maps often have names like that don't they? So yes, it was around this point that while enjoying myself greatly, I was feeling a slight sense of Memento Mori 2 for better and worse. Incinerate blew all that out of the water and set the rocket on fire. All was normal until suddenly you meet, what IS that? It LOOKS like the Super Mancubus from Valiant! Just wait till you see what it does, a huge spray of projectiles all over the place, lit up wonderfully against the darkened cavern by the effects of GZDoom(?) That's not all, there are second and even third attacks, each brightly and uniquely coloured, and dangerous in their own way. I'm assuming this must be called the Astral Mancubus.

 

Right where was I after trying to clear up all that mess? Yes, it's at this point Eviternity 2 really starts to get interesting. The whole set-piece of 3 Astral Mancubi and a Cyberdemon on the middle column, the floor filled below and the air filled with screeching astral cacodemons. This is by far the highlight so far! A great GREAT way to finish chapter 2, now I'm pumped.

Yeah I'm going to leave it there for now after all that. I'm very sorry about this mods, THIS IS THE FINISHED POST.

 

 

EDIT: Oh ffs I forgot to do Charge and my favourite and least favourite map.

*sighs* Right, MAP 32: CHARGE (Tristan & Guardsoul, Music by Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Ok, very quick, unlike the map. Finally got here 2nd playthrough. Bloody brilliant, superb. Must have taken a year to make. You can cheese that huge lift with the baron by pressing the switch, jumping off, then teleporting up when it's finished. Much easier.

 

Missed that whole secret area first time. Absolutely loved it, I love exploring and the whole adventure of uncovering where it leads. Then there's that gold astral cacodemon, a special one off and never again! Just make sure you stand to the side when it comes flying in.

 

Then, down the huge pit to the secret area. What does that 1997 date mean? Tristan's birhday??? A huge giant door, what secret could possibly be behind this? Great for the music to stop, it actually hugely adds to the atmosphere. The giant gate lowers, lowers, lowers, just what is the huge secret behind it??? How fascinating - It's a... It's a door. A big wall, and a door. Oh... Well lets go through and ahh nice to see you again perforator.

 

As for the ending, well I didn't get the perforator first time did I so I was in for a world of hurt. Even better, I slogged and slogged and slogged till I finally beat it, NEVER REALISING THE WHOLE TIME the electric switches pop back up, which would have saved me SOOOOO much hassle - You mean to tell me I could have just fried most of them this whole time? As if that wasn't bad enough, the cherry on top, the final insult after backtracking the level to stock up for the next one, I straferan in one huge beeline for the exit, noticed the electricity switch and thought I'd give it one more press for fun as I sprinted full speed to the exi... OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIT STOOOOOOOP QUICK... Too late I couldn't stop in time so I'm just lying there uselessly with all the other corpses. Great job electrocuting myself when the level is over, ugh let's just get out of here...

 

Favourite Map: Map10 - Incinerate

Least Favourite: Map 08 - Oblation

 

See you next time. *storms off*

Edited March 19, 2024 by RICHIE B
OMG this is a disaster

[RICHIE B]

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

MODS PLEASE DELETE. THANKS

Edited March 24, 2024 by RICHIE B

[Dee Legit]

Eviternity II has some of the best Doom MIDI'S I've ever heard!
If anyone's interested I've made a cover of MAP32's track "Velocity" featuring Tristan Clark

 

 

Edited March 21, 2024 by Dee Legit
Fixing Embedding and spelling

[Budoka]

OK... that was legitimately pretty amazing.

 

@RICHIE B Can't Imagine they'll delete any of that. I don't agree with much of what you said, but there doesn't seem to be anything wrong there.

[Lt.Gonflette]

Playing through RC5 with GZDoom. A true testament to the skills of the mappers involved. The wad is hard and unforgiving, but the fights are adrenaline-fueled and the levels gorgeous. Oh and the OST is a bop.

 

Currently on MAP14, and one thing I have to ask:

  Reveal hidden contents

Was there no way to make a switch to reset the tile puzzle, so you can start from a clean slate? I gave up after about 15 minutes and went for the normal exit. I'll admit I never liked this kind of puzzles in action games and I was always bad at them.

Can't wait to see what the rest of Eviternity II has to offer!

[Bubbinska]

I finished my run through the other day and was blown away. The secret levels Parallel, Charge and Kenosis were standout levels. 

 

The overall production quality is excellent, with some amazing tracks. The custom enemies are also generally very interesting and quite well used. 

[RICHIE B]

  On 3/21/2024 at 11:59 AM, Budoka said:

OK... that was legitimately pretty amazing.

 

@RICHIE B Can't Imagine they'll delete any of that. I don't agree with much of what you said, but there doesn't seem to be anything wrong there.

Expand  

No, I mean the second post. I sat on my keyboard by mistake and sent a load of unfinished copies but only one extra showed up. Part 3 coming up. Interesting to know what you didn't agree with but I can imagine. Lets see what I have to say about the rest. :)

[RICHIE B]

Okey-Dokey, this is part THREE of me Eviternity II Review. It's late so prob just one episode again this time.

 

CHAPTER 3 - PETRIFIED

 

MAP 11: TITAN (Guardsoul, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

So to Recap, I was wowed by map 10 so am now pretty pumped and things are getting exciting. Now we're in this beautiful lush world with gorgeous music to match, this might be the most beautiful level in Eviternity II, even ahead of Freya. And I think this is going to be my favourite episode already. Lots of rockets but I'll save them and use the pistol and show my skills. Of course it didn't take long to realise that's just not going to cut it, as it became clear what you are expected to do. Those rocket boxes are there for a reason folks. All right, this is SO much fun, I love it! Or I did love it until the deaths started piling up and I started crying "This is unfair Bullshit" LOL. I love it really, but those nightmare demons WON'T stay still and almost all shots miss, except when they get near and OH NOW they hit when you get a facerocket. I hide in a section when the archviles are about to appear then wait for the back walls to open, making sure I stocked up on rockets first, then blast thru everything to get to the archviles.

 

This level is absolutely beautiful, even with the big grey building; it just adds to the futuristic feel. I'm amazed at how fantastically tall it is, especially when you climb it later. I never played Halo so wouldn't know but it looked like a Sonic world to me. I even found all 3 secrets by myself for once so I'm happy with myself.

 

The area inside after the red key before you take the huge lifts up to the top, with an archvile, cacos, skulls and hell knights, with doors then opening revealing more. Yes that was as tough as the beginning, died over and over and over and over, frustrating as hell. But things are at least more fun when you reach the top and take in the stunning view from high up. Just don't fall off. An amazing colourful but deadly setpiece with Astral Enemies spraying projectiles filling the screen. It was an amazing experience running backwards down all the steps with astral mancubus projectiles following in front of your face and being able to doge them all. I LOVE all these new enemies, at this point it's getting so good I distinctly remember thinking the only thing that would make it truly amazing would be if a Leviathan type enemy from Struggle Antaresian Legacy (which I finally discovered and had been playing before this) showed up later in the game - that would top everything. The infighting can get insane. But all in all, it beat me up bad - 47 times I died, the highest of all in this whole playthrough - save for a certain secret level in this chapter (oh we'll get to that, don't worry). Bit short of armor maybe? I would have liked another one myself.

MAP 12 - COLLAPSE (Dragonfly, Music: Jimmy)

  Reveal hidden contents

Huge expansive exploration levels are always appreciated here, but there is a place for shorter more contained maps like this one too. Immediately the music kicks in and you realise it's at this point we haven't heard much of Jimmy yet (I missed every secret level so far), but here he is, and this pumping music is like a sequel to Segregation, so fittingly in this most Segregation like map of Evi II. Unfortunately, though I enjoyed that level, imo it was the most grim and brutal of Brutality, so maybe it was that plus the fact there's so much more dark grey and so much less of the beautiful landscape and water we saw in Titan, that this just didn't click with me as well.

 

I since understand the premise of the level better, and I should love this kind of thing, walls coming down, ambushes galore. I just got out of bed the wrong side that day I think. That final fight is crazy, I mean CRAZY, goodness me! I found a way to cheese it, by hiding behind the wall up above, where the backpack secret is. As long as you don't get the blue armor, you can return there to hide and regroup.

 

After using all my ammo to empty the level & painstakingly chip away the 3 cyberdemons, I finally climbed the steps up to the teleporter to... Huh? What's goin on? I'm teleporting everywhere. Wait a minute... No... No... You have got to be kidding. You mean to tell me I could have telefragged the cyberdemons this whole time?

 

This wouldn't have been so bad, but I made the same mistake when I played Valiant last year, on Map 23 Genocide Motor - and the best part is, that was AFTER watching Mount Pain's video where he specifically addressed it. I just want to get out of here. Back to missing the soulsphere secret again too. This time it was just sloppiness, I ought to have been able to figure that one out.

MAP 13 - COLOSSICUS (DFly, Music: Jimmy P)

  Reveal hidden contents

Another one with tough moments. Managed to clear the first infighting room without getting hit somehow. More impressive huge structures and back to some of the lovely outdoor colours too. Not much to say on this one, no funny stories but I liked it. Looking forward to seeing a little less of the dark grey though soon.

MAP 14 - EQUANIMITY (Aurelius, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Aurelius' single contribution, but it's a great one, just one of the best doom levels I've played. I'm still lost even now but the explorer in me is in my element, a beautiful open map. There are statues of the Archangelus, and I greatly enjoyed the callback to Eviternity I. Unlike some people (lol) I had no fear the Archangelus statues would come to life and start attacking me haha. It's fun going around picking off all the enemies but those paintballers can be ennoying. Can you imagine if they were still elite chaingunners? Perish the thought. Took a while to realise this is a puzzle map and the room I'd gone in was a sliding square puzzle. There are 3 such rooms, each holding one key, the keys being used to open the secret level (which I missed yet again by the way even though I went to all that trouble to get all 3 keys, because silly me didn't realise that was a teleporter that lowered in the middle. Nor did I know there's a BFG which would make UVMAX so much easier. So it's worth doing the puzzles first to get the keys to get the BFG. Or you could just take the secret exit there and then.

 

As well as that there are three 'challenge' areas for the normal exit/to UVMAX. All 3 are difficult enough to be painful, so much so they can reduce the enjoyment of the map at times, but it's up to me to suck it up and get good. That's why you need the BFG. Cells can run out though so use rockets when you can I'd say as there are a Skillsaw amount of them around.

 

All wisely and thoughtfully set to a perfect soundtrack for doing puzzles. I heard that this most chilled out of songs was rushed in a crunch and finally sent over an hour before release - That is so funny and I'd NEVER have thought it.

 

Sliding Square Puzzle Solution - Red Key (Well it's a guide really not a solution but hey)

  Reveal hidden contents

Right, I had to Youtube this because it drove me mad.

There are 8 squares and one gap totalling 9. Number the squares, so 1 is the left wing tip, 2 is his head, 3rd his right wing tip etc.

First, do nothing else but get square 1 in it's position, then get 2 and 3 together next to each other and fill the top row. Right, that's the top row done and it doesn't need to be touched again.

Now for 4 & 7 down the left column, the tougher bit. The bottom 6 squares, helps to see them as 2 sets of 4 overlapping in the middle, then cycle around with each set of 4. Some cycling needs to be done to get 4 and 7 next to each other - and in the correct order depending on if you're going clockwise or anticlockwise. I find you need to get to 7 & 4 together in that order.

You do that, the final 4 just cycle in place. Done.

 

And don't forget to press the switch to open the door, obvs.

 

9 Raising Columns in a Square - Blue Key

  Reveal hidden contents

4 switches in the room, go to the one in front of you, press it 3 times.

Go around the room to each switch ANTIclockwise, so go to the one on the right. Press it 4 times.

Go to the furthest one near the bars that open. Press it 3 times.

Go to the final switch on the left, press it twice.

 

So, anticlockwise from the front - 3 4 3 2. Done.

Barrel Puzzle - Yellow Key

  Reveal hidden contents

What? Now come on, it might be tricky but you know how to do it. I find it helps to try to press the switches a tiny bit earlier than you think you need to. But that's me. Just gotta practice and get gud.

 

MAP 15: RUBICON (Scotty, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

While I was whinging earlier about how "it's too grey", something about Rubicon, which is all grey and no trees or pretty buildings, totally clicked with me. Somehow I feel really up for the challenge, and this one can be brutal. If you got the perforator, save it cos you'll need it. You know, I really don't like high up revenants but this one isn't too bad, Colossicus was worse for that.

 

As you move in, there is a room with weird glass sections with revenants behind them. Except wait... Those aren't revenants, these are PURPLE, they're a NEW enemy entirely - they look like Prowlers! Oh wow I am super excited. Any time a new enemy appears is a highlight! Ok, I took a long while looking at them first wondering what they will do. Since they look like Prowlers I am expecting them to teleport around and throw multiple fireballs. So lets release them - and that's exactly what happens, with an impressive flame attack too, followed by a Commander Keen kinda noise when they die - I love them!

 

Plasma Gun area. Oh boy, press the switch - immediately open fire on the 4 nightmare demons, kill them absolutely as quick as possible. Basixally as soon as the last one goes down, laser bars disappear opening more enemies. Instantly hide behind the final column and look at the imps to the side. Stay silent and wait till the laser bars by the imps disappear then you know they've all gone, then let the infighting begin. Sprinting through the crusher and waiting with the plasma gun, I keep waiting for the cyberdemon to appear. Wait, the 2 astral mancubi took him out?? Wow that's impressive.

 

Then the BFG, much needed. There are PLENTY of cells in this level which is so so needed and good. I found the secret rocket area leading to some sort of hexagon crusher reactor place. Oh gosh, even with a full perforator, rockets and BFG and 200/200 health this is brutal. Every shot seems to hit you and bounce you around. Always take a beating here.

 

And then the Pain Elemental area, oh boy, that. I was absolutely stumped. I humped every wall and everything, just like the good old days, went round the back in the toxic waste, in the hexagon cyberdemon area, everywhere, I just could not figure out how to get in there, it kept me up at night. Vytaan, Pag and co were taking their sweet time and hadn't got this far yet (lol) In the end, I had to resort to making a profile on here and asking for help. Thankfully, someone kindly quickly responded and finally I could find peace. That area is tough, I had to hide behind a column in the corner taking toxic waste damage then run out spamming the BFG nonstop to have a chance. But there's no reward? I can imagine Dean of Doom taking Scotty to task over this if he covers this, that would be funny. What was also funny is I didn't even know which map the secret level was in, so missed that again.

MAP 33: CATALYST (Bauul, Music: Jimmy)

  Reveal hidden contents

Well since I didn't even find this level till my next playthrough I arrived late at the party. Even before it begins, the text reveals this is going to be very interesting indeed. I'd heard of this level and seen the thumbnail but knew nothing else. Already there's a cutscene to begin, and Eviternity II is full of amazing and impressive creative cutscenes. Of course, when I first realised what was actually going on and what I was expected to do, I was so hyped. JUST in time to avoid going straight through the very first lasers. Thankfully, the lasers are quite forgiving and you can seemingly go through the edges quite easily. The lava however, isn't. That's what really makes me nervous. If one toe touches it, instadead - no ifs no buts. The flashing strobing red lights later in the level were fantastic, not that you're able to notice them or all the other environmental stuff when playing - I can't overstate enough how much these touches add to the experience.

 

Oh how I was loving this. Of course it would get more challenging, to be expected, but goodness me I started to realise how in over my head I was.

 

Or I was loving it. I have a Dell Latitude E6330 which is a high end laptop. Or it was, in 2011. This is the problem. You need good hardware to survive the guantlet and mine just won't cut it in 2024. As the deaths and errors piled up, my laptop overheated (despite being clean, it's just old) reducing the already choppy movement to an unplayable 1 fps. After about 178 deaths it was time to call it quits. I made it over 75% of the way to be fair.

 

This is my first time using GZDoom having been living in the past with ZDoom for years and I now know you can play with the video options to help, sacrificing graphics to actually get some smoothness to play.

 

It wasn't too long before the videos started appearing on Youtube, with some frankly astonishing performances and times posted, while for me simply finishing the level was pure fantasy for now.

 

As for Jimmy's song Hyperdrive, not only is this a stunning piece of music, the best of his in this wad and one of his best ever imo, it FITS the level perfectly. As great as it is, it just wouldn't suit Freya, nor would Freya's music fit here.

 

This was a stunning, perfect and imaginative effort by Bauul. Does the Top 100 memorable Doom Wads get updated? If only one map from Eviternity II makes it in it's this one.

 

I binned my laptop when it failed altogether, my new one is an improvement but still lacking in providing the perfect smooth movement needed, but it was a huge achievement when I could finally savescum my way to a 3:38. Since then I got down to a 2:51 but am yet to complete without a death.

 

Bravo, Bravo BRAVO!

Favourite Map: Map 14 - Equanimity

Least Favourite: Map 12 - Collapse

 

Tune in next time. Same Echidna time. Same Echidna channel.

Edited March 22, 2024 by RICHIE B

[RICHIE B]

EPISODE 4 - BASTION

 

MAP 16 - BARBICAN (Map & Music: FlyDragon)

  Reveal hidden contents

Now to historical world. Ooh what a lovely warm looking opening this is, the appearance and music is like Crash Bandicoot. Quite open in that you can take your pick where you want to go first. Now we're in Chapter 4 so I've decided I REALLY have to start doing the secret levels, and oh there it is right over there. Managed to find the switch and all secrets by myself! Generous soulspheres, megaspheres and ammo. Just got to work out the best strategy where to go. The whole red key cyberdemon area feels a bit of a slog - I pick away at him by pulling the lift down and shooting his feet so he can't hit me. But I totally enjoyed the rest of the level. Thumbs up. And YES, finally I took the secret level.

 

Seems a few compared this episode to Eviternity episode 1. To be honest I'd never thought of that. I see the similarities but it looks and feels different enough to me that I didn't notice.

MAP 34 - FREYA (Bri , Music: DFly & Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Right, quite a mix of credits there. I don't know who did what but it all came together wonderfully, even if I think Titan surpasses it slightly for looks. Don't be fooled, this map bites and that ending is crazy. Liked the secret area with the word Freya, but who or what is Freya? Who knows but this is beautiful.

MAP 17 - PERDITA (Liberation, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Not much to say but I liked it. Plenty of ammo. Crazy ending. In the darker world while running I went back through the teleporter by mistake without finishing that area or retrieving the yellow key, only to find I couldn't re-enter the dark world again because the teleporter was raised. Don't know if it's a bug that got fixed or I missed something obvious (again).

MAP 18 - MALAISE (Oh Bauul made this? Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

This is like a darker sequel to Regicide. I like the early berserk reward for exploring. Enjoyed this one but really would have liked more cell ammo. There's 2 or 3 huge fights in particular that BFG is needed for: The red key ending fight and that one in the room with all the paintballers on ledges and everything filling up below. Nasty room that. I found all the soulsphere secrets this time, but dammit I really didn't appreciate that tiiiiiny narrow tunnel with the red switch you shoot down, trying to fit shotgun blasts in there. Bit too fiddly and annoying for me, I waste so much shells before it finally connects. Nope. Map feels like Knightmare, the old UK kids show that most of you won't know about lol. This is really good music too btw, easy to forget about it amongst all the others that took more spotlight.

MAP 19 - SPELLBOUND (Map & Music: Dragonfly)

  Reveal hidden contents

Such a cosy great looking village map this one, I hugely enjoyed it. Found ALL the secrets too!

MAP 20 - DOMINION (Bri & Dragonfly, Music: Jimmmmmy and omg I nearly forgot about AD_79, very sorry)

  Reveal hidden contents

All right, with the kicking music, this means business! A new enemy reveal which is always a great thing, a green goat. Ooh it's similar to the pyro knight from Valiant, and just as deadly. I'm loving how many new and diverse enemies have been added this time around. And we're still only 2/3 of the way through, can't wait to see what else we'll discover. Scary Cyberdemon on a perch, and dammit it's hard to make the autoaim reach him, so I keep wasting perforator ammo. Eventually figured out all the secrets by myself again, yeah I'm getting the hang of this now. Save everything for the ending, spam everything and finish the chapter feeling like a boss.

FAVOURITE MAP: Map 19 - Spellbound

LEAST FAVOURITE: Map 17 - Perdita

Edited March 22, 2024 by RICHIE B

[Andromeda]

  On 3/22/2024 at 8:10 PM, RICHIE B said:

Liked the secret area with the word Freya, but who or what is Freya? Who knows but this is beautiful.

Expand  

Maybe a reference to goddess Freya?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja

[RICHIE B]

Hmmm yeah that is interesting...

 

And now for Episode 5 - HYPERBOREAN

 

MAP 21: NUMB (Everything by Dragonfly)

  Reveal hidden contents

Well it's a fine level but it's not my favourite - you can almost feel the cold. BRRRRRR. Ice and Steel didn't seem like my favourite combination. There's nowt wrong with it, but seems like a bit of a chore and thought I'm not going to enjoy Hyperborean as much as the others.

 

All about survival again, and it was never too much fun picking Revenants, Nightmare Demon and an Astral Caco with a single shotgun. That's because I didn't notice until recently there's a SSG in the central room the whole time! Found the secrets eventually but shooting the target is difficult, and this is a bit of a problem that recurs. The ice seems super slippery for enemies this time over Eviternity 1, it was crazy seeing them move like that. Love how the bridge leads to the next map, and you can see that area in the next level - a great touch.

MAP 22: INCLEMENT (Bauul & DFly, Music: Jimmy)

  Reveal hidden contents

I really enjoyed Inclement, but it drives me mad. That crazy hectic action where you can't decide what to shoot and it's all going on around you - I like this kind of hands on deck action. Takes a lot of skill, even then something inevitably gets you in the back. That baron and hell knight tight space with the blue armor and rockets is brutal and can easily be the end of you.

 

Lots of hidden secrets - 3 coloured switches need to be pressed to reveal the way to a hidden teleporter. I like the "Use Any Key" switch too, it's a good touch. But I always think of Homer Simpson going "Hmm I wonder which one's the Any Key". For ages I could never figure out how to open the secret level, using idclip to explore. Finally I figured out you just hop on the baron teleporter back in that tight room, then it all opens up from there. Well I cheated but made it to the secret level again.

MAP 35: PARALLEL (Dragonfly, Music: Jimmy)

  Reveal hidden contents

I didn't realise this was a Jimmy track at first, like being surprised when I found out he did Fluid Motion.

Well what a great looking level, I like the colours. You soon figure out what's going on, but it's tough at first. Limited ammo against some pretty heavy enemies. Infighting is needed. But once you work out a strategy, prioritising grabbing an armor, it gets easier. There's just so many enemies and it seems like you will always run out of ammo but you always get through in the end.

 

There was one secret, that megasphere in the cave, that just boggled me and kept me up at night. Just HOW do you get that megasphere? I was tired and thought there must be some combination switching between the worlds. But nope. In the end I had to resort to coming on here and asking nicely. And wouldn't you know it, Dragonfly promptly kindly replied explaining how it works, and even made a little video, just to make super sure I CAN'T get it wrong. How cool was that?

 

In that heaven room, I found you can just stand to the side of the long platform and take the enemies out in 1 or 2 goes. I made things much harder for myself by not availing myself of the many soulspheres generously placed around - out in the open no less - so no tricky puzzles or thinking even required.

MAP 23: THAW (Oh DMPhobos did this? Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

Another level I should have absolutely loved but I wasn't on form today and just ended up frustrated. Very non-linear with enemies around almost every corner, I like this kind of thing but it was the wrong day today. This will grow on me I think. Even managed to figure out all the secrets I think.

 

Biggest problem is that target you shoot near the beginning to open the soulsphere secret. It's too far away to see and notice, and I waste nearly half my shells trying to hit it even though I'm sure I did. I'm really not a fan of too difficult targets to hit tbh...

MAP 24: TEMERAIRE (Antares031, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

And here we are folks, the big one. Antares and Tristan team up again to bring us maybe the greatest map I've played and my favourite of Eviternity II. Suffice to say this made a big impact on me. That music certainly helped, and I heard this wasn't going to be the first choice. There is something wonderful about it that comes together perfectly.

 

Temeraire felt like the sequel to Eviternity's map 14 Frimaire, improving on it in every way imo. Even better, Antares later confirmed that it was and this was the intention all along, just showing how this level clicked with me. I remember Dean of Doom eloquently describing Frimaire as the "personification of cold". And that summed it up perfectly, it did feel cold. In contrast, Temeraire feels warm and hopeful somehow: You are pushing through and conquering the difficult battles by persevering. And they are difficult battles, the red key room fills a small room with a lot of crazy stuff. Then there's that yellow key room with cyberdemons and archviles; then the blue key fight, another overwhelming swarm. But to balance this, we are given soulspheres, megaspheres, armor and ammo almost to excess. Sometimes this is perfect for such a long tough battle map, this adds to the heroic and hopeful sense the music gives; that it is difficult but you can do this.

 

Even better, it's a good mental exercise, as I took timeout during the quieter moments to think how to reach the secrets. I managed to find them all successfully, and feeling like I'm really starting to get good at this now!

 

Temeraire is an amazing adventure that you hardly want to end, and wonder where it goes next. And that's before you finally journey to the other side and reach the docking area to behold the awesome sight - a huge battleship! In Doom! This is the H.M.S. Temeraire, and the whole scene requires no less than "a moment of appreciation", several moments. My laptop is struggling to take it all in as the performance becomes heavy but I don't care. This is an all-time must see moment in Doom. How much time and effort must have gone into that? It truly is a stunning sight. And things haven't even ended yet. Now you find your way out there and are suddenly transported to a mountainside with 60 Cyberdemons. Of course I died first time, but once you've taken in the spectacle you have to rush quick and can hardly process what's going on before you now find yourself ON that ship. You look out and see the mountainside in the distance, then realise hundreds of rockets are hurtling toward you from the distance so RUN! Find your way to the top, press the button quick, what does it do? Well it fires the huge war cannons and blows the side of the mountain away and all the cyberdemons on it are left in a steaming pile, with a hole leading to the exit. The whole scene built up further and further in a crashing crescendo and left me blown away, and needing to pause to take in all that had happened before continuing to the next level.

 

Also, what I can't overstate enough is how much I appreciate the fact there's also a teleporter there to take you back to the level to collect everything you want to continue. It's a bugbear of mine when you get locked off in a level and have to continue without being able to return. Sometimes that works and is part of the challenge but it's usually just really annoying, so I'm very thankful of being able to return everywhere.

 

All in all, Temeraire is magnificent and the highlight of the whole wad for me. There is also a H.M.S. Temeraire here where I am in Portsmouth UK, further strengthening the connection. I must truly take my hat off to Antares for this masterpiece, and Tristan for the music - which was the perfect choice in the end, and elevated it to the superb levels it reached. The only thing that would make things even better is if a Leviathan from Struggle: Antaresian Legacy (which I'd discovered and been playing extensively before dumping it for this lol) shows up. At this rate, anything can happen! I wouldn't expect that, but it would be amazing if it did and elevate Eviternity II to extraordinary levels for me. Oh well, I can hope, no matter how tiny the chance.

MAP 25: BOREAS (Dragonfly, Music: Tristan)

  Reveal hidden contents

And now we enter the final map to finish the episode, before we reach the finale in the enemy's homeworld - Boreas.

Well, I'm afraid to say folks... I loved it! Entering the map, I thought we were in for another difficult 1000 monster 2hr+ slog. Not a bit of it. If you play continuously like me, you might be fully stocked up on everything - Perforator, BFG, 200/200 health, locked and loaded.

 

So in we go, and the scene where the bridge lowers in pieces leaving you on the structure is already spectacular. Just don't fall off cos I'm still not sure if there's a way back up. 2 switches either side, press them, then something's happening, the walls are lowering in the middle. With great anticipation I await the reveal, just what is going to happen? The walls lower, and... No.... No... I can't believe it. It is! It's a LEVIATHAN! It actually happened! OMG I can't believe it, this is amazing. A Leviathan really HAS shown up in Eviternity II. I know it's called a Necromenace (and is from Heretic or something) but I don't care, to me it's a Leviathan. Even better, another one shows up soon. You can just BFG and perforate everything if you have them, a curbstomp battle. Then the bridge on the other side raises up, and it doesn't matter what's coming out of that exit teleporter, it's getting slayed before it has a chance to do anything. And it's over and out.

 

Boreas is a very short level, and over almost before it begins. It was huge fun, and just what is needed before the presumably huge and difficult finale coming up. And especially after the huge Temeraire. Sometimes you just need a short quick map that you can take apart like an absolute boss. There is a time and a place for a short Boss level like this, and this was the perfect time and place. Another behemoth would have just sapped the energy, but this meant you can enter Celestial refreshed and pumped.

 

And the music is perfect, so easy to forget about amongst the others, but it's actually one of my favourites, so here it is below, because I think it deserves a bit more recognition.

Cold Air - Eviternity II OST (MAP25) (youtube.com)

FAVOURITE MAP: MAP 24 - Temeraire

LEAST FAVOURITE: Map 21: Numb

Edited March 24, 2024 by RICHIE B

[MBison]

  On 12/10/2023 at 4:56 PM, MBison said:

Gonna take my time with this one. Real comfy.  

Expand  

Welp, I wasn't lying. Took me 4 months of casual play to get through the wad on UV (I play doom, literally, in my spare time)

 

What a masterpiece. I loved every second of it. Bravo!

[Snikle]

Perhaps it's been noted already, or even an intended behavior, but there's a way to get the secret BFG in MAP24 that doesn't seem to match the way people did it in the DWMC thread. I tried poking around in the crates in the red skull fight, evidently not well enough to find the BFG passage. After finishing the cybers, I save-scummed some strafe jumps through the gaps in the ship's railing and after 2-3 tries was able to slip through to the pier and walk to the BFG from there. I thought that was the way it was done until I read the DWMC reviews, since there was a different secret that also needed strafe running to reach (the teleporter to the outdoor soulsphere)

[antares031]

  On 4/13/2024 at 4:58 PM, Snikle said:

...some strafe jumps through the gaps in the ship's railing...

Expand  

 

It's actually an intended short-cut to reach the level's super secret spot (the one with 100 health bonuses and more). Grabbing a BFG from the another secret area is a bonus reward, if you couldn't find the secret teleporter around the yellow skull key before.

[Doctor Gill Gilliam]

Quite fun! It took me at around 11 hours to beat Eviternity II, and I say without doubt that this is the best Doom WAD I've played in a very long time.
Most favorite map is Titan, same for its song.

[Nate42]

  On 4/11/2024 at 1:41 AM, MBison said:

Welp, I wasn't lying. Took me 4 months of casual play to get through the wad on UV (I play doom, literally, in my spare time)

 

What a masterpiece. I loved every second of it. Bravo!

Expand  

Me too, just finished it today. Kenosis was kicking my ass so I took a break from it for a while then life got in the way... but finally finished. Great set, even better than the first one.  I'm old and slow and only intermediate skill at best, so some parts were really tough, but I think there's something for everyone in there. 

  Reveal hidden contents

I suck at crushers, and that cyber, manc, crusher fight in kenosis was a real slog for me. Probably had to reload that one 20 times, no lie. Not you guys fault I suck though. :D 

 

[ukiro]

  On 4/15/2024 at 1:23 AM, Nate42 said:

  Reveal hidden contents

that cyber, manc, crusher fight in kenosis was a real slog for me

 

Expand  

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Just circle strafe clockwise =)

[Nate42]

  On 4/15/2024 at 9:32 AM, ukiro said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Just circle strafe clockwise =)

Expand  

I mean you're not wrong,  but knowing what to do and being able to pull it off without getting squished are two different things. 😀 Anyway fully admit that I suck. 

[RICHIE B]

I'll be back soon to finish what I started, and will have something to say about that darn Kenosis room haha.